Wednesday, March 04, 2009

He tapped a fingertip against the windowpane. Then, he turned to her and grinned.

Uh oh. She knew that grin. It wasn’t a run-of-the-mill, harmless smile. Nope. This one was pure…teasing.

Scanning her mind swiftly for a source of his obvious amusement (at her expense, no less) so she’d be ready to face whatever he was about to say—hopefully with a witty, equally teasing reply—she struggled to keep her own features bland.

It was no use. As far as she could tell, the only thing outside that window was the thing she’d learned to despise. Well, if not totally despise—that was such a strong word!—at least dislike. Snow—and lots of it.

The window-tapping finger touched her cheek, tracing a cool line across her skin. He chuckled, the sound low and throaty. Then he leaned close, placed a kiss on her temple, and said, “You do know why it’s snowing again, don’t you?”

His mouth moved to her neck, trailing a line of kisses warm enough to melt anything. She swallowed hard. “A cold front?” A deep rumble sent shivers down her spine. How did he manage to kiss and laugh all at once? She ventured, “A warm front?”

The devilish grin on his handsome face grew as her skin tingled beneath his touch. He stood behind her, pulled her close and pointed the finger that had begun this madness toward the window. Her gaze followed his fingertip, connecting the empty distance between his skin and…ah, that was it. She spied the two white lumps on the deck outside the French doors.

“Oh…”

“That’s right. Looks like Mother Nature got annoyed by those patio chairs you hauled out of the barn yesterday. Ticked her right off, I’d say.” He put his arms around her, hugged her tightly against his body.

Mother Nature can take a flying leap, she thought.

But he wasn’t done teasing her. Not yet.

“The way I see it, there’s only one thing for two snowbound people to do.” Ideas rushed though her head but before she could tug her sweater off, he said, “And since you got us into this white mess, I’m going to insist you take the lead in this adventure.”

She quirked a brow, the grin on her own face wider than the one he wore. You don’t have to ask twice, her inner vixen purred.

When he turned away she assumed it was to throw a log in the fire. Light a candle, maybe.“Come on, let’s get our gear on. I’ll grab our boots. You get the hats and gloves.”

“Boots? Gloves? Hats?”

He smiled above an armful of down jackets. “Of course. You wouldn’t want to take a walk in this stuff without your coat, would you? Come on, Snowmaker. You asked for this, so let’s get going.”

My Hero

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